The 'Man Of God' and prophetic 'servants' from the Bible to Qumran

10.1163/ej.9789004158429.i-452.29

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Chapter Summary

The author has focused on the modified literary forms in which some of these terms 'visionary 'and 'anointed one'appear. Thus, for example, the terms 'visionary' and 'anointed one' appear in the Qumran corpus as prophetic designations in ways generally unknown in their original biblical contexts. The ancient prophets have been assigned two primary tasks: to foretell the future and to mediate divine law. This chapter continues this same approach by focusing on the final two prophetic designations that appear in the Qumran corpus: 'man of God' and 'servants'. Both of these terms regularly appear in the Hebrew Bible as prophetic epithets. They likewise appear in several places in the Dead Sea Scrolls as prophetic designations. The tradition of Moses as a 'man of God' in late biblical texts developed from earlier traditions imbedded within the Deuteronomistic history. David emerges as a 'man of God' only in late biblical literature.